Softly Spoken
by Lisle987
Summary: Ok, this is about Steve Leonard and an OC of mine, and what would happen if they met. Enjoy! :D


**INTRO: Ok, so this is about Steve from The Saga Of Darren Shan, and a character I made up, and what might happen if Steve was taken out of The Lake Of Souls and these two people met...enjoy! :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't not own The Saga Of Darren Shan or it's characters.**

**SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers, so if you haven't read the whole series of books, don't read this. Go read the rest of the series instead, silly! XD**

I gasped for air as I was dragged out of The Lake Of Souls. Oh, thank the Gods, I thought to myself. Sweet, beautiful air after such a long time in that hell...I don't know who just saved me, but all I want to do right now is thank them over and over! I opened my eyes to see...nothing. I thought I had gone blind, but then I started seeing different colours and different shades of light...gradually, my sight was coming back. One of the blobs of light started moving towards me, and she put something over my body. As my sight started to return, I realised the moving blob was a person...a woman. She had put a blanket over me. I hadn't realised how cold I was until then. I tried to speak to thank her, but I couldn't speak. I couldn't even move. I was in a state of paralysis. So I just lay there, waiting until I could hear, see, speak, move. The first thing I got back was my ability to hear. I heard an angel's voice humming and thought that, in the process of being dragged out of the Lake, I had died and gone to heaven. Then I realised, if I was in heaven, I should have my sight back, shouldn't I? Suddenly, I could smell a fire burning. I had completely forgot about scent. Then, I could move again**. **I tried to raised my head, but I didn't have the strength, and layed my head back down almost immediately. I hadn't realised how hungry I was. I didn't even have the energy to get up. I wondered to myself, trying to remember what food was like, and if I get some, could I taste it at all? I closed my eyes and fell asleep immediately.

When I woke up and opened my eyes, I could see again, move again, just like I had never been in the Lake. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes...was a angel, sitting infront of me, looking at me. "Oh, you're awake," she said in an angelic voice. Then she smiled softly. The most beautiful smile I had ever seen. I tried my hardest to drive back tears. No one had smiled at me in years...and I didn't deserve someone to smile me...not an angel like that. She's so beautiful, I thought to myself. My heart filled with love and adoration. I tried to get up, so I could walk towards her and hold her with the last of my strength, but she saw me moving, and walked towards me. She looked worried. "Try not to move, you need to rest after all that happened to you." She stroked my hair and a tingle of happiness went through my heart. She smiled softly at me once again, and my heart leaped. She started to walk away, and I feared that she would leave me here. But then she came back with a plate full of cooked fish. "Can you swallow yet?" she asked me. I nodded my head softly and she smiled. "Good," she said. She brought out a knife and a fork and cut it up for me. Then she started to feed me. I haven't felt this happy for so long, I thought to myself, as my hunger slowly faded away with every mouthful. I smiled at her kindness, but I had to wonder, why was she being so kind to me? Why had she brought me out of that hellish lake? Didn't she know about the things I have done, the horrible crimes I had commited? When I had finished my fish, I couldn't help but forget about all that. All the regret...all the hate towards myself...all the sadness and guilt...all of it faded away when she looked at me. I needed to tell her how beautiful she was. I strained my voice to speak. "T-thank you...for y-your kindness..." I managed to whisper, before a coughing fit enveloped me. Then I collapsed.

My eyes slowly opened as the same beautiful angel who had saved me looked down at me, panic and worry in her eyes. Panic enveloped my heart. No, my mind cried. I'd made her worry so much. Tears started to fill my eyes. Then she looked even more worried. "P-Please..." I managed to say. "Don't be worried...i'm fine..." My voice trailed off to a whisper the more I spoke, as I slowly ran out of voice. The next thing I knew, she was running towards me, tears filling her beautiful blue eyes. She reached her arms out and hugged me tightly. Love overflowed every particle of my soul. Forgetting my shyness in the presence of such beauty, I whispered to her "I l-love y-you...so m-much..." She looked up at me, and smiled once again, tears still in her eyes. Then she buried her face in my chest and held me again. "I love you too..." she whispered. Then, she fell asleep in my arms.

As she slept, I picked her up and covered her with the blanket she had given me. I then ate all the remaining fish so I had the strength to get hunt for some more. I came back with 16 fish, then I found next to the burnt out fire a little diary where she had written about different types of fish and what ones were poisonous and which were not. She had obviously come prepared. Had she really come all this way, to this inhuman place, just to rescue me? I lit the fire and put the fish in a nearby pan she had brought with her, along with other kitchen utensils. I then put the pan at the top of the fire, balanced on a stove made of various stones. I gazed lovingly at her as the fish began to cook. Then, I realised, I knew nothing about this angel. I suddenly had a incredible longing to find out everything I could about this stunning angel. But, I didn't have the heart to wake her to ask these things, when she was obviously so exhausted. I had been practising how to talk while she slept. By the time another hour had passed, I had gained the ability to speak normally again. I immediately thought of the long conversations I could have with this angelic woman...my heart ached in longing at the thought. By this time, the fish had already finished cooking and I had taken it off the pan. I hoped she would wake up soon, so I could feed her some fish, just as she had done to me. She had saved me and looked after me tenderly... I just wished intensively to return her kindness in whatever way I could. Only then did I realise how much i've changed since my death. I remembered how cruel and evil I was, and I shivered. All those lives i've destroyed...I deserve to be in that Lake, I thought to myself, as tears of guilt streamed down my eyes. "I'm a monster..." I whispered to myself, staring down at the ground. "You're not." I heard a voice behind me say. I spun around to see her, my angel, staring at me with shining eyes. Her heart skipped when I heard that beautiful voice again. She walked towards me and sat next to me, looking deep into my tear-filled eyes. "I know what you've done, and I know why you did it. But Steve," she said, reaching up to stroke my long, silver hair, "you're not a monster. The only reason you did those things was because you were under Mr Tiny's control."

"Thank you," I told her, smiling. I looked at her with love in my eyes, but disbelief was in my heart. She couldn't possibly know that Mr Tiny controlled me; she had no reasoning behind that, I thought to myself. She looked in my eyes and said "You don't believe me, do you?" I looked down at the ground, not being able to reply. Suddenly, I grabbed her hand and held it, stroking it softly. "I'm sorry, my dearest one, I love you with all my heart, but I would have known if someone was controlling me. Also, how could you have known if Mr Tiny was controlling me?" Then I realised something.

"Wait. How do you know who Mr Tiny is? How do you even know my name? I don't mean to sound suspicious, but...who **are **you?" She looked down at the floor, her eyes filled with sadness. I gasped as I realised my suspicions have upset her. "Oh, but of course, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I won't ever mention it again if you don't want me to." I realised my hand was shaking as I stroked her short, beautiful, sandy coloured hair.

"Please, I don't even need to know your name. Just, please...don't be sad. Oh, please..." I whispered, buring my face in her hair. A long silence filled the air as I nuzzled her hair pathetically, silently begging for her forgiveness. Finally, she whispered "...Steve?" I looked up at her, sadness and pain echoing in my eyes, but a little glimmer of hope shining in my heart.

"Yes, my love?" I said to her. She looked into my eyes and said,

"I think i'm ready to tell you who I am."

I sat and waited patiently, staring at her.

"My name is Mabel Aaid, and..." She smiled at him lovingly. "I'm a half vampaneze."

We sat around the fire, eating the fish I had cooked earlier, as she told me her story.

"The night we first met was when I was a human, and you had only just become a vampaneze. You and a group of half vampaneze's entered a gothic bar, and you started flirting with some girls, saying you could make them look young for a hundred years. I was watching all this from a couch near you, with one of my friends, who had forced me to dress up as a vampire and come here. But I hated it. I was about to leave when you saw me and called me over, telling me not to leave. I decided it would be rude to just leave, so, even though you were really drunk, I sat next to you, while my friend looked at us, jealousy in her eyes. She stormed off and ended up making out with some other guy there." She laughed as she said, "You tried to chat me up, but I was just ignoring you!" Then she smiled as she said "But, the instant I looked in your eyes...I fell in love. I knew that I couldn't live without you." Her face went more serious as she said, "But then...you dragged me outside and..." Tears started to fill her eyes, and I instantly realised what I had done to her. I had forced her to become a half vampaneze, then I...I couldn't even finish the thought. And, after all of that, I had just left her there? What kind of monster was I? I couldn't even look her in the eyes. She looked at me, moved towards me, and tilted up my head so I was staring into her eyes. "Steve, remember what I said? This was Mr Tiny's doing, not yours. He was controlling you. Okay?" I looked up into her crystal blue eyes. She's so strong, I thought to myself. If she can get over it, then I can too. I nodded my head determinately. She smiled at me, and carried on with her story.

"I knew what you had done to me was real when...when I killed the friend I had gone with to the bar and drank her blood a month later. I didn't mean to...I just-" She was shaking and her eyes were filled with sadness and panic. Then she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and carried on with the story. "I had to run away from home, otherwise i'd have ended up killing my family as well. So, I tried to make it in the world alone, but I was only 18 then, and I didn't have many qualifications. I ended up working in a sleazy bar just to survive. The only thing I wanted was to go back home and leave all this behind. But I needed to find a way to go back to being a human. But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a cure. So, I decided, i'd kill myself. Strangely enough, it was a thunderstorm when I decided i'd end my life. I thought it was destiny, and so I made a metal pole and put it in the middle of a forest, away from humanity's eye. I didn't care whenever or not my body would be found, or if my parents would see this on the news. All I cared about was ended the pain. So I gripped onto the pole, and I waited for it all to end. I put my life in destiny's hand. I decided that if the lightning hit the pole and killed me, then that was what was meant to be. If it didn't, i'd keep on living my life. I stood there for about half an hour. Then, I realised, when I opened my eyes, someone was watching me. I gasped as the figure approached. I didn't know who he was or what he wanted. I didn't know if I should run or stay. Then he stepped into view, and I saw a man, about 50 years old, with short white hair and glasses in a yellow raincoat and green wellington boots, and a heart shaped pocket watch. Altogether, he looked very odd, and a bit scary. But the most scary looking thing about him, the thing that really knocked fear into my heart, was that mocking grin he wore on his face, as if the fact I was commiting suicide was one of the funniest things he'd ever witnessed. So, in fear, I ran as fast as I could. But then, as I was running out of the forest, he appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my arm." Her eyes were filled with fear as she told the story. "I tried to pull my arm away, but he was too strong; far too strong for any human. I was so scared. But then, he chuckled and said to me, "What's the rush? Do you **really **want to stay as a half-vampaneze forever?" I was shocked. How did he know about what I was, I thought. Then, as if reading my mind, his grin grew bigger and he said "I'm not like any human you've ever met. In fact, i'm technically not a human." Then he laughed. "But, back to the subject on hand," he said, "if you really want the cure to being a half-vampaneze, then you'll have to help me first. You see, there's a few people that I don't like, or that I need to disappear, and I need you to make them disappear. It is true that I could kill them myself, but I don't want to get my hands dirty. So," he grinned harshly, "what do you say? Do we have a deal?" It only took me a moment's thought to come to a decision. "Ok," I agreed. "I'll do it.""

"The next day I started my work as an assassin. I was able to quit my job at the bar, which was good. On the bad side, I had to kill Mr Tiny's enemies by day, and live at an apartment near Mr Tiny's house, so I could go over to his if he needed me. After three years of killing, he finally decided that it was time I got my payment. So, he knocked me out for the operation, so I don't know how to turn a half-vampaneze into a human, in case you were wondering. When I woke up, I no longer had a longing for blood. I was human again. When I was rushing out of the door, Mr Tiny said "Oh, I forgot, there's something i've been meaning to tell you. The truth." I turned around, wondering what he was talking about. "You know," he started, walking around absentmindedly, "my son isn't **that** bad of a boy. I know he's done some horrible things, but I just want you to know that he's a decent boy. I'm telling you this because you two have met before. Remember, the boy who turned you into a vampaneze and left?" I instantly froze. After so many years of not thinking about you, I remembered. And all I could think of when I thought of you was the need...for vengeance. I couldn't remember the connection between us or the fact that I fell in love with you. I could only remember that you ruined my life, and that I needed to destroy you. "Ironic, isn't it?" Mr Tiny continued, "The fact that the father of the person who made you a vampaneze turned you back into a human. Funny how the world works sometimes, don't you think?" he said, flashing me a knowing smile. But I could barely reply. My mind was consumed with hatred. Because Mr Tiny...was controlling me. I was about to rush out the door, to try and hunt you down, but then Mr Tiny yelled "Wait! I have to tell you, you'll never grow old, and you'll never die. That's not a problem, is it?" Then he laughed loudly as I ran away, in search of you. Then I stopped and turned towards him. "No, that's not a problem." I snickered, "In fact, that gives me more time to find your son, so I can destroy him." Then I grinned and started running away again, into the night, vengeance enveloping my mind.

I tried to find out everything about you, so I could find you. It was hard, but I finally managed to find out your whereabouts. I found out you had been dead for three years, and I cursed your grave, saddened that I couldn't commit my act of revenge. But, then, I remembered what Mr Tiny had said in one of our conversations. He spoke about The Lake Of Souls, and how evil people go there when they die. I never thought too much of it, but then I realised, if I fished you out of there, that would be saving you, wouldn't it? So, I decided, I'd torture you a lot, then i'd send you back to The Lake Of Souls, just so I can get this revenge thing out of my system. But then...when I fished you out of there, I saw something different in your eyes. I saw that...you had changed. Then I realised; we'd both been controlled by Mr Tiny. Everything started to make sense. I felt like my old self again. And, I saw you and instantly fell in love...again."

"Well, that's the end of my story. Ask whatever you want." she said. It was silent for a moment, then I said,

"Hey, i've just realised something."

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

"I couldn't have come out of The Lake Of Souls with clothes on, but I have clothes on now, and I didn't put them on. Does that mean...?"

"Yes, it does. I saw you naked."

"...Oh." I blushed. Then I joked, "Hey, just don't make any jokes about length; to be fair, it was pretty cold in that lake." Then we both laughed, and I knew that even though we've both done things we regret, and we've been controlled by hate, we can still find love.

**At the same time, in Mr Tiny's house:**

Mr Tiny's watching Steve's and Mabel's conversation using telepathic powers. "It's strange, isn't it, how humans can go through all of that and still manage to laugh." he said, talking to himself. "Well, i'll let the mortals laugh for a little while, and i'll let them worry. They'll find out eventually that Steve isn't a half-vampaneze anymore, because the time he spent in hell transferred him to his original form. However, he doesn't age or die, just like Mabel doesn't. I wonder, will they still think it's concidence? Ah well, they'll figure it out eventually. Probably about the same time, in years to come, when they receive a visit from Mr Tiny."

**The End.**


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